January 10, 2025 at 11:08 pm
We don't have an IT department that can help us. We have our SQL server on a laptop that an employee owns and manages. He no longer wishes to support us with the SQL database on his laptop. The employee is disgruntled, so we need to make sure he does not have access to the new server.
We want to set up a new SQL Server on our own machine that the company owns. I will need to copy the database from the employee database and set it up on our own new company database. I know enough SQL to run queries and set up schemas, drop tables, and databases, but that's mostly it.
How can I copy the employee's database and then upload it to the new laptop that we are setting up? Then I think I need to drop the database on his server even though I'm sure he will have backups.
Questions:
What type of laptop should we purchase, and what is the amount of memory and storage?
We are using MS Access as the front end but are looking forward to moving to VB 16.9, .Net
What are the steps to:
· copy from the previous server
· create a new SQL Server on a laptop for this purpose
· upload the copy to the new serve
· change passwords and roles etc.
Is there anything else I'm missing that I should consider?
Thanks,
JP
January 11, 2025 at 4:16 pm
What access do you have to the original server/database?
😎
The first thing would be to get a full backup of the database from the disgruntled employee and then restore it locally, other approaches do depend on the access you have to the system. The second thing is getting an assurance of data removal from that system.
My advice is to hire a consultant who could most likely sort this out in a couple of hours or less, but there are caveats:
You are missing several vital facts whilst asking multiple questions in this post, some of those are technical others are legal/contractual, in fact, what you are asking for is for someone to hack a system, grab some data and then erase it from the source.
Not the right approach!
January 11, 2025 at 5:32 pm
Thank you for your feedback.
We are using the developer version of SQL Server and will use the same to set up the new server. I have access to the current system to make edits, create & drop tables, and make the full backup. The disgruntled employee has a manager and is forced to help us in any way. He is just very nasty in his attitude to help, which is one of the reasons we are moving it. I even think he would welcome us moving it to another SQL Server and may help to be done with supporting us. We just want minimal contact with him.
What are some of the vital facts that I am missing, and what technical detail is needed? I'm sure I can find the answers.
Thank you.
JP
January 11, 2025 at 5:56 pm
Is there anything else I'm missing that I should consider?
Yes. It sounds to me that you're using the "Developer" Edisition to do "production work"... which goes against the licensing agreement for the Developer Edition and your company can be seriously fined into oblivion if word were to get out by the "disgruntled employee".
Also, since the Developer Edition is the "Enterprise Edition" behind the scenes but with special licensing, the simple method of doing a backup and restore to move the data to a properly licensed SQL Server will likely mean that you'll need to use the Enterprise Edition, which is quite a bit more expensive than the Standard Edition. There are methods to copy the data from the Developer Edition to the Standard Edition but they can be complex. You might want to get a good consultant to do it for you. You'll also need to buy a proper license to be compliant.
And, no... I wouldn't put this on someone's laptop. You need to setup a small server and start treating it as a server, complete with backups of the Windows Server software (something else you'll need to buy to be compliant with the licensing/law) and the Windows level information and proper offsite backups for that and SQL Server.
If you good folks actually value your business, you'll take those and other proper steps.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
January 12, 2025 at 6:04 am
Great advice. I'll look into it.
Thank you.
JP
January 13, 2025 at 2:38 pm
You're a pretty strong candidate for moving that database to the cloud. As you say, you don't have expertise in hardware or operating systems in house. Moving the database to the cloud makes those things go away. Probably, your best bet, easiest, would be to go to a virtual machine in the cloud, where you'll install an appropriately licensed version of SQL Server (just reiterating, using the Developer edition on production data violates licensing and can get your organization in trouble). However, looking at Platform as a Service offerings like Azure SQL Database or AWS RDS is also a possibility.
That said, I'm with everyone else, probably time to hire a consultant to help you out with this stuff.
Also, yeah, HURRY to get a full backup done before your disgruntled employee can do something heinous to the database, then, take it away from them.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
January 13, 2025 at 4:38 pm
Step one for me would be to have the disgruntled employee's laptop taken away from him(assuming it's a company owned machine) so you don't have to worry about the data "disappearing". That would also give you some time to get the alternative configured and ready to go.
January 15, 2025 at 12:22 pm
January 15, 2025 at 1:48 pm
Why are you still planning to run SQL Server from a laptop instead of an actual server or at least a regular (desktop) PC?
January 15, 2025 at 7:40 pm
Running the server from a laptop is not you best option, especially if you want continuous up time and accessibility.
There are several online databases you could try here's a few:
https://www.oracle.com/database/
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/azure-sql/database
As far as copying the data you'd need to export the database some how. Google can help determine the best way for your specific platform...
Role management will depend on what platform you use, but this is something you could find in the Documentation of your chosen platform.
Hope this helps
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